A fundraising sale organised by a Glasgow-based Ukrainian baker to help those caught up in the conflict in his homeland has raised at least £25,000. Hundreds of people queued around the block to buy cakes, buns and other baked treats from the Deanston Bakery in the Shawlands area of the city on Sunday (March 6).
Yuriy Kachak organised the initiative after feeling "helpless" when news of the Russian invasion unfolded, and so he decided to use his skills to do what he could to help people affected. Some customers queued for more than two hours on Sunday to buy treats including cinnamon buns from a selection of goods baked by Mr Kachak and his team, alongside home-bakes donated by locals.
Raffle tickets with prizes donated by local businesses were also on sale, and there was live music to entertain people as they waited. All proceeds raised on the day will go to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.
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The bakery team thanked everyone for their support in a post on Instagram on Sunday night, writing: “So far . . . together, we’ve raised £25,000. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us this last week and everyone who came along today.” Earlier they said: “What a day. Thank you so much to every single person who came along to support the bake sale today and for all the messages of support.”
The posts drew praise on social media with comments including, “Absolutely incredible. Just shows how important you guys are to our community and how we all stand with you” and “so heart-warming to see such an amazing turnout”.
Mr Kachak, who is originally from the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine, has lived in the UK for 19 years and moved to Scotland four years ago. He runs the popular Deanston Bakery with his wife Svetlana, who is from Latvia, whilst his mother and brother also work there.
Speaking earlier in the week, Mr Kachak told the PA news agency: “I felt a bit helpless when it all started so I thought that there’s a lot of things I can’t do but this is a thing I can do, I can help people out. All 100% of sales will be going to Ukraine. It’s not about us as a business, it’s about people getting together and raising funds to help those who need it.”
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